NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 2 – Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia says the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to an increased rate of Gender-Based Violence in the country.
Kobia, who was speaking about the global 16 days of activism against gender-based violence which began on 25 November said in Kenya, only 10 percent of cases are reported by men while 90 percent are reported by women.
She said such cases are a barrier to gender equality and further highlighted that they are usually encouraged by poverty, unemployment, job losses, conflict of resources, alcohol and substance abuse and depression.
“What is more important is that COVID-19 pandemic has increased reported cases of GBV because people are confined with attackers and because it is silenced, the problem is compounded,” she said during an interview at a local TV Station.
She said the Government will liaise with civil societies and community-based organisations to empower and sensitize people on the GBV and highlight the information needed by the victims.
“There is great need to create awareness and to know the framework of reporting such cases, especially the steps you need to go through when one experiences GBV,” she added.
She, however, acknowledged the difficulty experienced by the majority of victims in speaking about the violence due to what he termed as ‘societal norms’ of protecting members of the families, who are usually the perpetrators.
“Sometimes, the perpetrator is someone you rely on and because you are purely dependent on them financially, you won’t speak out because you are the one who will be disadvantaged,” she said citing it as one of the challenges faced by victims.
The CS further urged Kenyans across the country to speak up against the violence experienced within communities to enable all stakeholders to address the vice effectively,
“We must be able to find how we can control this norm, It is very important to campaign and encourage people to speak, Let’s come out in numbers to speak about the vice so that it can be confronted effectively,” the CS said.
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